Archetype

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Introduction

Infect is an aggro-combo deck built around its namesake mechanic introduced during Scars of Mirrodin block. The deck takes advantage of the infect mechanic’s interaction with pump spells to blitz out opponents, often by turn three or four. Cheap threats and one-mana protection spells allow Infect to play like a tempo deck in the style of Delver or Fish, using Apostle’s Blessing, Mutagenic Growth, and Vines of Vastwood as pseudo-counterspells. Other games are more defined by combo elements with a flurry of pump spells ending the game in one fell swoop.

An antecedent to the current builds of Infect appeared at the first Modern Pro Tour in the hands of Sam Black, who took it to a Top 8 finish. That build was much more focused on the combo elements of the archetype, employing eight broken cantrips in Ponder and Preordain to find Blazing Shoal for explosive kills, sometimes as soon as turn two. Many of this archetype’s key cards were subsequently banned.

The printing of Become Immense in Khans of Tarkir signaled a resurgence for the archetype, pushing it to the top as one of the premier Tier 1 decks in the format. During that time it saw success in diverse events from Star City Games Opens to Grand Prix, and was notably one of the best performing archetypes at Pro Tour Fate Reforged in the hands of The Pantheon. With the banning of Gitaxian Probe and the arrival of Fatal Push, Infect has fallen from its lofty heights of format dominance, settling into solid Tier 2 territory.